‘I thought they were after murderers’: Canadian man in ICE detention challenges US immigration policy

Curtis Wright, 39, has been in South Texas ICE Processing Center for several months after being stopped at a US port of entry, according to reporting by CTV News.

In comments shared with media, he said he did not expect to be detained because he believed ICE’s enforcement focus was on the most serious offenders.

“Before I came in here, I was of the mind that they were doing what they said they were doing, where they were focusing on the worst of the worst, criminals and murderers,” he said, as reported by CTV News.

His remarks come amid ongoing controversy over ICE’s detention practices and enforcement priorities under US immigration policy, which government officials have repeatedly framed as targeting serious offenders but which advocates say increasingly includes nonviolent and minor offences.

In recent years, data has shown a significant portion of individuals held by ICE, including those without criminal convictions, are detained for immigration violations alone, contradicting official crime-focused messaging.

The Canadian’s detention has prompted concern from family members, who argue that his legal and personal circumstances, including past minor convictions and a long-ago criminal history, were misunderstood and that he was treated as though he posed a significant threat.

South Texas Detention Facility. Photo: wikipedia.org

They say separation from his family has been prolonged and stressful, and are pursuing legal avenues to secure his release.

ICE did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the specifics of his case or clarify its rationale for continued detention, but the situation highlights broader debates about U.S. immigration enforcement.

Under U.S. law, immigration authorities can detain and remove non-citizens with certain criminal records, including misdemeanour convictions or nonviolent offences, and some legal experts say many travellers do not fully understand how immigration law differs from criminal law in its consequences.

The man’s family has said they are working with lawyers and advocacy groups to challenge the detention and raise awareness about what they describe as a lack of transparency in ICE’s enforcement practices.

They hope the case will prompt broader review of how detention criteria are applied, especially for foreign nationals with limited or dated criminal history.